Washington (CNN) - White House Deputy Communications Director Jen Psaki, a longtime aide to President Obama, is leaving the administration to run the Washington, DC office of Global Strategy Group, a New York-based consulting firm that specializes in strategic communications and polling, including work with many prominent Democratic political candidates and financial clients.

The well-liked redhead – currently the top female aide in the Obama press shop – has clocked four years working in the White House and, before that, the presidential campaign. She’s also worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the political arm of House Democrats, as well as for the successful re-election bids of Iowa's Governor Tom Vilsack (now the Secretary of Agriculture) and Sen. Tom Harkin.

Washington (CNN) - Former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon announced Tuesday she was making another bid for Senate in Connecticut, almost one year after spending tens of millions of dollars on an unsuccessful run against Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

"I am a proven job creator," McMahon said in her announcement event at a Southington, Conn. machinery factory.FULL POST

Washington (CNNMoney) - Union groups for federal employees don't like a piece of President Obama's plan to cut $3 trillion from deficits over the next decade - the one that has all federal workers contributing more to their pensions.

President Obama's proposal would call on all federal employees to contribute 2% of their paycheck into their pension benefits, more than double the current 0.8%. The proposal would phase in the hikes for workers starting in 2013.

On this week's Political Notebook, President Obama’s push for deficit reduction and jobs are the main topics for CNN’s Peter Hamby and Bob Costantini. Plus, Rick Perry courts Jewish voters. And the drive for a new bridge with major political lanes.

(CNN) – President Barack Obama's re-election campaign put a feather in its cap Tuesday, as the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," became effective.

In an e-mail sent to supporters Tuesday, campaign manager Jim Messina called the end of the policy that prevented gay soldiers from serving openly in the military one of the administration's "signature achievements."FULL POST

(CNN) - Rick Perry Tuesday jumped directly into the battle over possible statehood for Palestinians, slamming President Barack Obama for his policy toward Israel and how he's handled the Mideast peace process.

"The Obama policy of moral equivalency, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, including the orchestrators of terrorism, is a dangerous insult. There is no middle ground between our allies and those who seek their destruction," said the Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate, as he went before cameras about 25 blocks from the United Nations, where the Palestinian Authority this week will seek formal recognition of statehood by the United Nations General Assembly.FULL POST

(CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry landed at the top of the GOP field among South Carolina voters, who host the first-in-the-South presidential primary, but only slightly ahead of Mitt Romney, according to a new poll.

The Winthrop University Poll released Tuesday showed the Texas governor with 30.5 percent support among Republican and Republican-leaning voters, compared with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's 27.3 percent, a disparity that falls within the sampling error.FULL POST

New York (CNNMoney) - Taxing the rich more. It's a central theme in the debt-reduction proposals put forth by President Obama on Monday. It's a familiar theme for Obama, but this time he added a twist by proposing the "Buffett Rule" for millionaires.

The Buffett Rule, named after billionaire Warren Buffett, is intended to ensure that those making more than $1 million pay a higher percentage of their income in federal income and payroll taxes than those who make less.

Washington (CNN) - Sen. Lamar Alexander will leave his post as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference in January. The Tennessee Republican told his Senate colleagues in an email that he was stepping down from his post to pursue other goals within the Senate.

"Stepping down from leadership will liberate me to spend more time working for results on the issues I care most about," Alexander wrote. "I want to do more to make the Senate a more effective institution so that it can deal better with serious issues."FULL POST

(CNN) - The author of a scathing book about Sarah Palin defended himself Monday against blistering criticism, claiming the former Republican vice presidential candidate and her family "march right up to the border of inciting violence" to protect their image.

"The Palins have intimidated so many people for so long in the Wasilla (Alaska) area that it's very hard to find people willing to talk about them," said Joe McGinniss, referring to the Palins' hometown, where he rented a house last summer. "They scare people. They threaten people."

(CNN) - The House fundraising arm of the Democratic Party outraised its Republican counterpart in August, according to figures released by the committees Tuesday.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $3.56 million, leaving them $3.3 million in debt with $7.77 million cash on hand. The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $3 million in August, leaving them $2.5 million in debt with $11.7 million cash on hand.FULL POST